What teachers can learn from Ted Lasso

 Over the last 18 months, we have seen an explosion of interest in student engagement.  While this was always a topic of interest for teachers, requests for strategies and training skyrocketed while everyone was teaching and learning online.  Breaking down the requests, it’s been apparent that a lot of them focused on cognitive and behavioral engagement.  While these are critical components of instruction, the beginning of the year is a perfect time to focus on the third type of engagement: emotional.

Many educators are not familiar with the idea of three different types of engagement.  These three types however help us narrow down where students might be a little disconnected.  A lot of times when we think of engagement, we think of what students are doing.  Are they on task?  Are they participating in the activity?  This is just one type of engagement though, behavioral engagement.  Another type is what students are thinking about during a lesson or activity, cognitive engagement.  Are they thinking about the content?  What is their attention focused on?  Finally, the last type looks at how the students are feeling both in general and about the learning.  Do they feel emotionally safe?  Have they bought into the lesson or activity and feel some connection to the learning.  This type especially hinges on the relationships we build in the classroom.  As Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  

There has also been another explosion of interest over the past 18 months and that has been in the hit show, Ted Lasso.  People have been drawn to its folksy charm and unending kindness and wisdom.  The basic premise is that Ted Lasso is a college football coach who has been hired as the head coach of an English soccer team….despite knowing nothing about the sport.  Yet he approaches this challenge with courage and an unwavering belief in his ability to help the team.  As the episodes progress, viewers realize that Ted isn’t a successful coach because he knows the game, he leverages his ability to create relationships and emotionally engage his players and staff.  With that in mind, here are 5 lessons that educators can learn about emotional engagement from Ted Lasso.

Names are critical

One of the very first people Ted meets in England, as he begins his football coaching journey, is Nathan the kit man (locker room assistant).  It’s evident from the get go that Nathan is not well respected by the players and lacks confidence.  When Ted asks his name, Nathan is shocked as “No one ever asks my name.”  Ted makes it a point to not only remember Nathan’s name, but to use it in their subsequent conversations.  Nathan is absolutely flabbergasted and can’t believe that the head coach remembers his name. When we take the time to see people and use their name, pronounced correctly, we send a message that “you matter” and take the first step towards emotionally engaging students.  

Tool: Consider using Flipgrid to have all students record their names and pronunciations at the beginning of the year.  This allows you the chance to put names and faces together and hear correct pronunciations of names or preferred nicknames.

Celebrate each other

The biggest challenge Ted faces as a new coach is a very fractured team.  One player is extremely arrogant while another is angry and abrasive.  The rest have either taken sides or keep their heads down to avoid the conflicts.  Ted works to bring them together by throwing a surprise birthday celebration for one of the players before a game.  As a gift, the team got him snacks from where he grew up.  He is moved by the small gesture and how the others thought of him.  It takes so little for so many kids to show them that you see them and you are glad to have them.  Whether it’s a positive phone call home out of the blue or a meaningful smile as a student leaves your class, there is so much we can do to celebrate our kids.

Tool:  Use the Stream in Google Classroom to post private uplifting messages or notes to students.  Simply click the All Students drop down menu in the announcement and choose which student will see the post.

Look for genius everywhere

Ted’s wealthy boss and team owner, Rebecca, is hosting a charity gala when the entertainment cancels at the last minute.  Understandably panic sets in as she tries to find a replacement.  At the eleventh hour, Ted brings in a busker he saw on the street to perform for the guests.  Despite her hesitancy and initial dismissal, Rebecca introduces him and he wows the crowd as an amazing musician!  All too often our students are judged by so many factors that are beyond their control.  They are dismissed by adults and peers because of superficial impressions.  Sometimes by giving students a variety of settings in which to “perform” we can see talents and strengths that we didn’t even know they had.

Tool:  Have your students had a variety of “settings” to demonstrate their learning?  Consider maker activities that blend content and hands-on activities to engage a variety of learners.  Students who might struggle with getting their ideas in writing could build something and verbally explain their thinking.

Honor what others bring

As somewhat of an oddity, Ted is shadowed for a day by a journalist, Trent, doing an in depth piece on him and his coaching style.  Ted takes the journalist to an Indian restaurant owned by the family of Ollie, the cab driver who picked Ted up from the airport on his first day in London.  Ted asks them for whatever is good and “make it like we’re a couple members of the family” before admitting he’s never had Indian food.  In one of the most visceral scenes of the show, Trent gives up after one bite but Ted continues eating to be respectful and not embarrass Ollie in front of his father in law.  Ted gloriously swan dives into the food of another culture and tries his best to appreciate it in all its blazing hot glory.  Our students come from rich and varied backgrounds.  We can recognize and honor those backgrounds through the design of our lessons and the way we interact.  Bringing in pieces of our students’ cultures, gives them a reason to emotionally connect with the content and their learning.

Tool:  Use a multimedia tool for students to create All About Me “presentations”.  Tools like Google Slides, Screencastify, or Google Drawings can be used by students to show everyone who they are and give insights into their backgrounds and personalities.

Believe

Probably the most recognizable image from Ted Lasso is the duct taped and slightly crooked sign he hangs above his office door that simply says Believe.  There are a lot of things we can do to help our students engage with their learning whether it’s cognitively, behaviorally, or emotionally.  We can create authentic lessons that are meaningful to them and allow them to be creative.  However, it’s hard to ignore the increasingly compelling idea that engagement starts with one small action.  Believe.

Reflecting on the first year-Part 1 #edtech #ETCoaches

I've been reflecting on my first year as a tech coach in a large, urban school district.  Our team of 19 served 187 schools as Digital Learning Coordinators.  And since this was a brand new role in the district we served 187 schools all while figuring out what our job is.

For all its glory and awfulness, I'm a big fan of the listicle.  So this is my attempt at a witty and humorous entry.  Maybe I'll send it to Buzzfeed...

(As I began writing this, I realized I'm a lot more long winded than I thought...well if I'm being honest, I always knew, but I had to face the writing on the wall this time.  So I'm breaking this post into three parts.)

Ten things I learned as a district Tech Coach (Part 1)

10.  It doesn't matter how many times you decline, people still ask you to fix their computer.

I love helping people.  I never thought that the hard part of my job would be saying no.  Since the Digital Learning Coordinator position was new to both us and everyone else in the county, we spent a lot of time talking to people about what we could and could not do for them.  Many of us were Instructional Technology Facilitators previously serving one or two schools and a big portion of that job ended up being tech support.  As Digital Learning Coordinators serving the entire county, we were told early on that break/fix was not something we would be doing.  We are coaches and trainers and our time is to be spent doing that.  It was hard for those who knew us to flip that switch and we had to say no to a lot of requests.  It was hard for us to say no to people we knew and used to work with.  It IS hard to say no to people who want us to come work with them and help them.

I learned, unfortunately, late in the game last year that if I fill my calendar with collaborations, trainings, and meetings, then I will never have time to actually prepare for the collaborations, trainings, and meetings.  This year I'm taking a stab at time blocking because of a session I attended at ISTE.  It fits right in with my attempt at following the Getting Things Done system.  So I'm actually protecting the time I need to develop my materials and do my own professional learning and growth.  

Recognizing when you're over committed and learning to say no is a skill and it's one any busy tech coaching serving multiple schools needs to embrace.  

Source

9.  Having a car with good gas mileage is important.

I will be serving 20 schools this year.  Fortunately for me they are clumped fairly close together and relatively near my house (though in my county, "close together" still means a 25 minute drive sometimes).  That is not the case for all the people on my team though.

I've been on a huge reduce waste kick lately.  I've switched to bar soap to eliminate the plastic bottles.  I've bought reuseable straws (I just got these and they're my favorite).  We've eliminated almost all ziploc bag use in the house.  I'm hoping to try out fabric wrapping paper this Christmas.  And perhaps the hardest change for me, switching from paper napkins to cloth.  Something about cleaning with fabric grosses me out.  I've had my eye on this company and can't wait for them to come to our area.

All of that to say, the amount of driving I have to do, makes me want to plant a tree.  Or a few hundred trees...There are some days I have to go to three or four different schools.  I'm not sure which is worse, the car emissions, the reliance on oil, or the amount of money in gas.

I still have my eye on that Suburu Ascent though.  Maybe they'll release a hybrid version.

Source

8.  There are only so many types of quickly accessible food.
And you learn ALL the locations of the type you like best.

I fully own this one.  I'm terrible at packing my lunch.  I blame two factors:
1. I barely tolerate leftovers of my favorite foods let alone eating them on a regular basis. 
2. That extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning instead of packing a lunch is totally worth it.

So I eat out, a lot.  Freshman 15 has nothing on the Transient Job 20.  And over the past year, I've realized that if I want something quick and, if I'm being completely honest, something I can eat in the car as I'm going from one school to another I'm pretty limited to burgers and fries.  And those get old.  Fast.  I still remember how excited I was the day I found a drive through Subway.

Hopefully that all is changing this year.  My girls have started kindergarten and I now have to pack their lunch whether I like it or not.  (If anyone has any ideas for how to involve them in this process that doesn't involve a billion ziploc bags to prep choices, PLEASE let me know.) And since I do a reasonably good job packing a varied and nutritious lunch for them, I might as well do the same for myself.

Source

So that's it for now, stay tuned for Part 2 in the Ten Things I learned As a District Tech Coach!

Are "unitaskers" killing digital learning? #unitasker #edtech #wonderwake #googleedu

If you've spent any time watching Alton Brown's addictive cooking show, Good Eats, you are intimately familiar with his derision of "unitaskers".  They are those tools you have in your kitchen meant to do one...single....task.

(Full disclosure, I have the meat claws....and yes, when I use them I feel like Wolverine.)

But let's put a pin in Alton Brown's (very accurate) opinion for a minute and look at one of Sir Ken Robinson's TED talks called, "Bring on the Learning Revolution!".  I promise there is a connection, just bear with me.

In it, right around the seven minute mark, he begins a train of thought about our enthrallment with ideas that we take for granted.  As an example he compares the amount of people over 25 who wear a watch to the amount under 25.  Many people over 25 don't wear a watch because they have to, more so because they always have.  They take it for granted that they need to wear a watch and while he didn't post this thought, I'd be willing to bet if you challenged them not to, they would be resistant.  Those under 25 view a watch, rightfully so, as a single task device and shun it for other tools that can get the job done and more.

I think we have become so enthralled with the idea that edtech is all about the latest and greatest, that we feel like if we're not using the newest cutting edge tool, no matter how inefficient, then we are falling behind.  We are taking for granted the rapid pace of educational technology and not stopping to think about what we're really doing.  Are we pausing to ask ourselves whether that tool is really going to help our students or is worth the time investment to learn it?  Usually not.

This is where Alton Brown's theories come in.  He questions the need for those prolific single task kitchen devices and actively promotes casting them aside for more versatile and efficient tools.  Educational technology faces the same problem.  I could spend the rest of my career trying to learn every unitasker edtech tool out there and it's unlikely I would ever catch up as more come out every day.

And I know for a fact that I am not alone in feeling this way.  I have had numerous teachers lament that there is so much out there, they get overwhelmed just thinking about where to start when it comes to integrating technology.

A part of me wonders if in our effort to showcase all these amazing tools and provide our students with 14 different ways to demonstrate their learning, we are actually shooting ourselves in the foot. By allowing ourselves to compete with the Jones and get distracted by whatever shiny tool comes along, are we sending a message to the edtech neophytes that there's no point in trying because they'll never get the hang of it?  When we are frustrated by the teacher who won't even consider abandoning their textbooks, have we created that problem ourselves?

This is why I am so obsessive about the Google Suite as the core to any technology integration plan.  The variety of tasks teachers and students can accomplish using just the 4 or 5 core Google apps is inconceivable.  And once they learn the functionality of those tools (which let's face it, can happen in first grade at the latest), the instruction can focus on the task and the learning instead of trouble shooting a tool.

I think it's time for those of us in the edtech world to become a little more like Alton Brown.  Let's start sending the message that it's not about the latest and greatest.  It's not about that shiny single task tool.  Leverage the tools we already know to take student learning to a deeper level.

We need to cast aside those strawberry slicers.  Throw away our zoodle makers.  (Though you can pry my meat claws out of my cold dead Wolverine hands.)  Let's just invest in a really great set of knives and cookware and learn how to use those effectively.  Let our creativity shine!  Because let's face it, can you really call yourself a chef if you need a Rollie to cook your eggs?

Upon whose dreams are we treading? #whatsyourwhy #wonderwake #kidsdeserveit

I am currently in my last class for my Special Endorsement in Computer Education certificate.  One of our assignments included watching this video from Sir Ken Robinson, "Bring on the Learning Revolution!".  It is a sequel of sorts to his infamous "Do Schools Kill Creativity" TED talk.

As I was watching this video, I counted no less than 10 moments where I found myself pausing to jot down my thinking and saying aloud, “Yes!”.  At each one my mind started wandering about the ramifications of the statement and my reflections on the idea.  In fact a couple are already the basis for future blog posts.  

Yet it wasn’t until his very last statement that I found myself shaken to my very core.

“And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly.”

This struck me both as an educator and as a parent.  And I'm not going to lie.  I sobbed.  I am firmly of the belief that having children is not a prerequisite to being an amazing educator, but things definitely tend to hit you a little differently.  Not only did this statement help me reflect on my actions in the classroom, but it also helped me reflect on my actions as a parent.  Who am I raising my children to be?  (But that's a whole separate story.) 

It is so easy to become wrapped up in the politics and the policies and the disagreements over tools or initiatives.  Yet at the end of the day, we have to remember the gravity of our positions as educators.  We are privileged to witness the hopes and dreams of every child that walks through our doors.  Our position holds the power to either uplift or smash those dreams with a single statement, especially in our most fragile students.

What frustrates me more than anything is this talk was given eight years ago.  It was given eight years ago and every point he makes is still something we need to hear.  We still need an education revolution.  Our society, especially the state of North Carolina, has not only prevented any sort of growth in education but is actively contributing to its demise.  Funding has dropped to perilously low levels.  Politics have allowed people of privilege to flee the public schools in droves.  The list goes on and on.

We work in a flawed system.  And that is disheartening.  But at the same time, as Mr. Robinson says, it is who I am.  “This is me.”  I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  I have to take heart in the idea that the tiny contributions I make to a gigantic system make some sort of difference.  How do we do more though?  How do we work from our place at the bottom of the pyramid to make systemic change?  Is it even my job to worry about systemic change?

Perhaps my job isn’t to worry about systemic change.  Maybe I need to focus on the one person at a time that I can help.  The one teacher who I can support in transitioning to a student centered classroom.  Or one teacher who wants to introduce digital learning with her students.  And then the next.  And the next.  Maybe we are the virus to that one teacher.  When we infect them, they infect two people on their team and those two people each infect two people and so on.

It’s very possible that to ignite a school revolution we have to work from both ends.  The right leadership must present and uphold a vision while those of us on the ground make small but incalculable impacts.  All while getting buy in from community stakeholders.  It sounds like a lot, but maybe it’s time that teachers are allowed to spread our dreams at the feet of society.

A first time for everything #iste18 #wcpssiste18

Today is the last day of ISTE.  I've learned my lesson and am sitting in the first session of the day (8:30am) 45 minutes early.  Unfortunately, lines have been part of the memorable experience that is ISTE.  Even with the lines, it has been a fabulous experience and my mind is so full of ideas and promise.  I'm already excited for #ISTE19.

As a first timer, I was quickly overwhelmed by the whole conference.  I spent some time reflecting on the Uber to McCormick Place on what recommendations I would make to future first-timers.

First, don't let yourself feel any pressure to get more out of the conference than you can.  I understand that if your school or district is paying for you to attend, there might be some expectation of making it worth their while.  Yes, get as much out of the conference as you can, but don't stress yourself out doing it.  Following Twitter, seeing all the lines, overhearing excited conversations, seeing people walking around with great swag can make you feel like you're missing something.  No matter how hard you work to pack learning into every minute, you are STILL going to miss something.  So embrace the FOMO.  Plan a full day, but also don't hesitate to plan a break and/or processing time.  Whatever the number of sessions you attend, you are walking away with some amazing learning.  Focus on what you got and how to take it back over what you missed.

Second, think about your conference strategy.  What are you here to get?  For me personally, this year, I focused on learning and sessions.  I know there is SO MUCH more including networking, the Expo Hall, before and after hours social events but I needed to get comfortable with the conference itself before I could tackle some of the other things.  I'm hitting up the Expo Hall today, on the last day, but I'm not walking in with any expectations.  With a billion vendors, all I'm looking to do is explore the layout, get a feel for how things work, and maybe pick up a free gift or two.  (C'mon, we all know teachers LOVE their free stuff.)   It's OK to not do everything.

Think about what kinds of topics you want to learn about.  Browse through the conference schedule to get a feel for what's being offered and go from there.  I knew I wanted to hit up some AR/VR sessions so I found a couple of those to add to my calendar.  Don't get overwhelmed with the HUNDREDS of session offerings.  It is literally a logistical nightmare trying to decide which session to attend at which time.  I relied heavily on the ISTE app using the Favorites and Agenda feature.  I browsed through the session offerings for the day and anything that sounded interesting and related to my goals, I favorited.  Once narrowed down, it was much easier to decide what to attend and when and these were added to my agenda, almost as a "final draft".  Also, be prepared with a backup plan.  If your session fills up, be ready with a second choice.

I'm not sure if this is the case for all ISTE conferences, but the lines for sessions were an issue this year, especially anything from Google and Apple.  If you want to get into the Google sessions, plan on getting there at least an hour early.  Apple sessions sold out almost immediately in the morning, so go EARLY to get tickets.

Hit up the Poster sessions.  Seriously.  They're basically like big science fairs around different themes.  For instance there were poster sessions on STEM/STEAM, Early Learning, Libraries and Media, Coaching, etc.  I was skeptical as I am not great at talking with strangers and I love a sit and get lecture, but some of the best learning was here.   I found it easy to talk to the "presenters" and networked like crazy here.

All in all, I had a blast.  Some sessions were better than others, which is to be expected, but I am walking away with so many ideas and so many things I can't wait to take back to my team.  I am very fortunate that I have been able to attend.

Changing for the better #globalteachers

This entry is going to deviate a little from the previous “here’s all the amazing things we did today” type posts.  We’re currently at the start of a five hour bus ride headed from Freiburg to Munich.  The countryside is absolutely beautiful.  It’s almost like driving through the Appalachian Mountains with the curvy roads, valleys, and forests.  Only the beauty is magnified by 1000.  It seems like around every corner is a little village nestled between green hills, the spire of the church standing up from the town center.  Since we’ve left so early, many people are sleeping and it’s given me some time to reflect on what this trip has meant to me.

If I’m being completely honest, I am not, by nature, a very adventurous person.  I am a homebody and often find it difficult to spend time with a lot of strangers or crowds.  The weekends are spent with my family playing at home or going to the park.  But during this trip I have been surrounded with amazing people whose only goal has been to see and do as much as possible.  Getting caught up in their enthusiasm, I have spent my evenings exploring picturesque villages, seeing buildings over 500 years old, and trying foods that are absolutely delicious.

The memories from this trip will last me a life time.  But what I’m starting to realize is this trip has sparked in me the desire to make more memories.  I want to travel more with my husband.  I want to experience more beautiful places like this with him.  I want my girls to remember a childhood filled with adventure and excitement.  More importantly, I want to be a role model for them and help them see how powerful it can be to see and do new things.

One of the goals of the Go Global NC organization is to foster global awareness and connections.  I already feel like I have learned so much here.  While much of what we have learned isn’t necessarily in my sphere of influence to change back home, I still feel a connection to the people we have met and the organizations we have heard from.  That connection makes me want more.  I want to learn from more people.  I want to see and hear what other countries are doing.  I want to make those global connections.  And I think that is exactly the point of this program.  I feel so lucky to be a part of it.

Learning from Germany #globalteachers

On Sunday we visited the Reichstag, home of the German government.  I’ve been thinking a lot about that and their political system.  The biggest political difference between the United States and Germany is the fact that we have a Two Party system and they have multiple political parties.  This has some really desirable effects and creates some unique requirements for their elections and government.

The biggest advantage to their system is that no one party can get enough spots in the government to govern independently.  They HAVE to work together as parties in coalitions.  Because of this, their political season is much less contentious.  It’s pretty hard to cooperate with someone when 6 months ago you were yelling about what a terrible representative they’d be.

But one of the most profound things I’ve seen in Germany is an unwillingness to forget their history.  It seems at almost every opportunity they take the chance to acknowledge the terrible role their country played in the war.  The site we visited with a long section of the Berlin Wall and the WWII museum is called, on their website, a “documentation center”.  There seems to be this unspoken understanding that being upfront about the mistakes of the past contributes to not repeating them.

This, of course, leads me directly to thinking about our own situation in the United States.  We have had some pretty horrific events/eras in our country as well.  But we want to believe that they are in the past and don’t affect us today.  The thing is though, they are not in the past.  Prejudice and discrimination is still alive and well in this country.  Whether it’s against people of color, the LBGTQ community, different ethnicities, or even women, we can’t pretend this isn’t an issue that needs to be continually discussed, documented, and rectified.

In addition, the idea of compromise and bipartisanship has practically disappeared.  We view people of different opinions as someone to beat in a contest.  It’s either our opinion or theirs, someone has to lose.  Even I’m guilty of this.

How do we bring back openness to new ideas and the spirit of compromise for the better good?  How do we learn to work together to solve huge problems.  Does that need to start in the classroom?  I’ve been hearing for years kids who say, “I don’t want to work with them.  I don’t like them.” or “I can’t be in their group, I don’t work well with them.”  When did this become okay????  It isn’t a big leap from “I don’t want to work with them” to “I don’t want to be around them” to “They shouldn’t be allowed”.

I really don’t have any answers.  I think there are things that Germany can learn from the United States (especially when it comes to their educational system), but I KNOW there are things we can learn from Germany.  Namely a sense of cooperation and an awareness of how our past is still influencing our present.